The ABI has today (17 November, 2013) responded to the Competition Commission's report into the private motor insurance market.

James Dalton, the ABI’s Head of Motor said:

"As an industry we remain absolutely committed to improving the car insurance market for hard-pressed motorists. We asked for the Commission’s inquiry into the market to help insurers continue the work we are already undertaking to remove costs that unnecessarily drive up car insurance premiums.

"So today’s possible remedies are a further step along the road to getting a market that enables insurers to deliver fully for consumers.

"We look forward to continuing to engage with the Competition Commission as it carries forward its work and we hope that this will lead to further improvements in the market and lower premiums for customers.”

Commenting on specific provisional findings:

Replacement vehicles (credit hire)

"We have long argued that there a number of non-insurers in the system adding unnecessary costs onto insurance claims. And for too long, these excessive costs have meant consumers paying more in premiums than necessary. So we welcome the Competition Commission’s provisional remedies which could give the at-fault insurer greater control over the claim they are paying for and reduce the overall cost of providing replacement vehicles to customers."

Add-ons

"Insurers stand ready to work with the PCWs to improve the information consumers receive. It is essential that customers have all the information they need to make an informed choice about the total cost of the policy they are buying and the cost and purpose of all of its individual parts."

Most Favoured Nation clauses

"These clauses prevent insurers from offering a cheaper price to consumers through another website as well as preventing insurers from rewarding safer and honest customers. So the proposal by the Competition Commission to prohibit wide MFN clauses will be welcome news for consumers who want more options when shopping around for the best car insurance deal."

Vehicle repairs

"The Commission’s findings are largely based on an inspection report which contains fundamental flaws and is based on an analysis representing 0.001% of the 1 to 2 million vehicles insurers repair each year. This is a tiny sample size on which to make sweeping recommendations about the future of the market. And the findings are at odds with insurers’ own complaints data."

Information for consumers post-accident

"Insurers appreciate that it can be difficult for customers to understand from their insurance policy what their legal entitlements are following an accident. So the Commission’s recommendations to improve the clarity of policy wording are helpful suggestions which we will consider further."